lower house of parliament

Oil companies Shell and Exxon apologized for the suffering of Groningen residents as a result of gas extraction earthquakes in the province. The apologies were made in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, at the insistence of GroenLinks parliamentarian Liesbeth van Tongeren

State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff of Security and Justice asked his ministry's Inspectorate to launch an investigation at psychiatric institution Woenselse Poort in Eindhoven following a series of suicides and other incidents. "We want quick clarification on what the facts are", Dijkhoff said

SNS Bank will remain in Dutch government hands for a while longer. Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem decided to postpone a decision on the bank's IPO until after the elections next year. This means the future of the bank will be in the next government's hands

Despite PVV leader Geert Wilders' insistence, there will be no referendum on whether or not the Netherlands will stay in the European Union. Other party leaders and the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, are against a so-called Nexit referendum.

Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice survived another debate without a vote of no confidence against him. In Wednesday's debate Van der Steur was under fire for a letter he helped former Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten write in the so-called Teeven deal while he was still a parliamentarian.

Changing ProrRail's independent position as track manager would be a terrible idea, ProRail CEO Pier Eringa said in Parliament on Wednesday. The parliamentarians are considering ProRail's position as part of the response to the Fyra debacle

"There will be a fuss", now Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice commented in a draft letter about the so-called Teeven-deal when he was still a parliamentarian in 2014. Van der Steur released the draft letter, on which he made 18 suggestions and crossed off several sentences, on Monday

Former Security and Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten gave Parliament incomplete and inaccurate information about an American undercover operation against a former Dutch soldier who sold drugs over the internet, the Volkskrant reports based on case files in its possession. According to the suspect's lawyer, the way in which the U.S. gathered evidence against his client, was illegal.

Prime Minister Mar Rutte is willing to lower the maintenance budget for the Groene Draeck, Princess Beatrix's private yacht, to 87 thousand euros a year instead of 95 thousand euros, he wrote in a letter to parliament

Renovation plans for the Binnenhof in the Hague, where many of the Netherlands political buildings are located, is leading to disagreement between the Eerste Kamer (Senate) and Tweede Kamer (lower house of parliament)

Public transport employees are faced with incidents that are becoming more violent. Though the actual number of incidents did not really increase over the past years, according to professor Ronald van Steden of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam

The Netherlands plans to give people who are deeply in debt a six month break in which they don't have to make payments, won't get reminders for payments and won't get a visit from a bailiff, State Secretary Jetta Klijnsma of Social Affairs and Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice announced on Tuesday

Dutch parliamentarians are shocked by the critical report on detective skills and capabilities in the police, which was presented to them on Thursday. They call for immediate action to rectify the problem

Police detectives work inefficiently and sometimes lack the necessary skills and craftsmanship, according to a "strength and weaknesses" investigation experts did on behalf of Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice. The report on the investigation was sent to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Thursday

In 2015 the Netherlands' national debt decreased for the first time since 2006. Last year the national debt was 10 billion euros lower than in 2014. And the country's budget deficit is at its lowest rate since 2009, according to the accountability documents sent to parliament on Wednesday

The government faced fierce criticism from the Court of Audit on Wednesday. There are "serious deficiencies" at the Tax Office, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Security and Justice, Court president Arno Visser said at the presentation of the accountability documents for 2015 in parliament,

Political parties will be stricter in screening potential parliamentarians for the upcoming elections, numerous parties told newspaper AD. They hope to avoid the numerous split offs and scandals that occurred in the current parliament.

Environmental organization Greenpeace will be handing a petition to ban the use of harmful ingredient glyphosate in herbicides to Parliament on Tuesday. The World Health Organization labels this ingredient as likely carcinogenic

PvdA parliamentarian Tanja Jadnanansing will not be returning to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, after the elections 2017. She wants to focus on her true passion - teaching kids and young people

Declining membership numbers at the CDA, PvdA and VVD is leading to financial problems for the parties. Some of these parties complained about the problem, which is approaching a critical point according to members, at the Ministry of Home Affairs. But so far wit no result

Dutch parliamentarians are calling on the government to create a fund specifically intended to pay for the defense of Dutch journalists prosecuted abroad, in countries where freedom of press is under pressure.